benson



B.S. BENSON. STEAM ENGINE AND PUMP.

No. 5,185. Patented July 10, 1847.

I av/ & I v Hvuu v 09 J w BENJ. S. BENSON, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

STEAM-ENGTNE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 5,185, dated July 10, '1847.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BENJAMIN S. BEN- SON, ofBaltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Steam-Engines and Pumps, and that the following isafull, clear, and exact i description of the principle or'characterwhich distinguishes them from all other things before known, and of themanner of making, constructing, and using the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, inwhich- Figure 1 is a plan of the engine; Flg. 2, a

vertical section at the line (a, a) of Fig. 1

and looking in the direction of the arrow (1 Figs. 3, 4:, and 5, crossvertical sections the figures.

at the lines (6, b), (c, 0,) and (cl, cl) of Fig. 1 and Fig. 6 aperspective representation of the cylinders and their connections.

The same letters indicate like parts in all The nature of'my inventionconsists in placing one, two, or more cylinders around the axisof ashaft, parallel with, and'at equal distance from it, and connecting therods of the pistons that work in them with arms, projecting from a shaftplaced at an angle less than a right angle with the axis of the shaftthat carries the cylinders, and thus obtain a rotary from thereciprocating motions of the pistons, when the pistons are actuated bysteam, &c., or give reciprm eating rectilinear motions to the pistonswhen the shaft or shafts are rotated by any power to cause the pistonsto act on any fluid as a pump. I will first describe my invention asapplied to the steam engine. In the accompanying drawings (a) representsa frame properly adapted to the pur-. pose, and (b)a horizontal shaft,the ournals of which run in boxes in the standards (a, 0). A disk (d) isattached to that-part of the shaft which is outside the standard, and tothe front face of the disk are secured four cylinders (e, e, e, e)placed at equal distances apart, parallel with each other and with theaxis of the shaft and at equal distances from it. To these cylinders arefitted four pistons (f, f, f, f) constructed like the pistons of othersteam engines, except that they should be made thicker, but this isarbitrary. The rods (g, g, g, of

.these pistons are connected by ball and socket joints with the pistonsand with four arms (72., h, h, h) that radiate from the end appropriateboxes in standards (7', 7'); and the axis of this shaft is placed at anangle, less than a right angle, with the axis ofthe shaft which carriesthe cylinders,.so that by of a shaft (2') the journals of which run.the'rotatio-n of the two shafts, the pistons,

in passing from the point (1), halfa revolution, to the point (2) willmove out from the bottom of the cylinder to the'end, and in passing fromthe point (2) to (1') they will move back, the length of stroke of thepistons being governedby the diameter of the circle generated b the axisof the cyl- 111(1618' and the angle ormed by the axes of the two shafts.The two shafts should be so placed that 'the axis of the one which :15;

carries the cylinders if projected would intersect the other at a planepassing through the balls on the ends of the arms which fit, the socketsin the, ends of the piston rods.

From the foregoing it will be obvious 1i that the moment one of thepistons has in its rotation passed the point nearest the plane of motionof the arms and cylinders that any force applied'to the piston to forceit out will tend to turn it in a direction from that point, by reason ofthe inclination .of the plane of motion of the cylinders with the planeof motion of the arms with which the pistons are connected, and

that from the point of greatest distance, 5

continuing the rotation the piston will; be forced in; hence it followsthat if steam be introduced in the cylinder, and be:

hind the piston, after the cylinder has passed the point of nearestproximity of the two planes of motion that it will exert a force onthearm with which the piston rod is connected in an oblique direction equalto the angle formed by one shaft with the plane of the other, and thatconsequently the two shafts will rotate together and with equal forces,and that if the steam be con-" densed after the cylinder has passed; the

point of greatest separation, that the pressure of the atmosphere on theouter surface of the piston, and a corresponding area on the cylinderhead will cause the two shafts to continue their rotation in the samedirection'until the cylinder reaches the point of nearest proximity. Inthis way the several pistons receive and transfer these forces andmotions; and thereby givethe required ro-' tary motion to the shafts.Under this arrangement each cyllnder and piston has its two dead pointsin the circle, viz., the point of greatest proximity and the point ofwhen two are used they be so placed as to' pass the dead points insuccession. But this difliculty is easily Overcome by employing.

three or more cylinders placed'at equal distances apart. V

The method of working this engine by steam is as follows, viz: The disk(d) which constitutes the heads of the cylinders, has a hole (f) passingthrough it'for each of the cylinders, and opening into it, through whichsteam is introduced and discharged by turns, as in succession either ofthem pass the ports (70) and (Z) of the steam and exhaust chambers andboth of whichare made in a circular case (0),, that is slipped onto theshafts which turns in it with a ring (q) interposed between it and thedisk,'the faces of these being fitted with ground joints and kept tightby temper screws (7*, 1") that pass through the standard (0) and-bearagainst the back fall of the circular case, The ring (g) has two longports (s and(t) cut through it, and forming segments of an annulus, withthe solid parts between them of suificient size to cover the steam andexhaust ports Zc) and (Z) in the front'face of the circular case (0).And

this ring turns freely on the shaft, and has the starting bar (10)attached to, and projecting from it, so that it can be moved up and downand held in place at anyone of these points by being held in notches v,'v) (the middle one not being visible'in the drawing) in a standard (w)by a spring (0a). When held in the middle notch the solid parts betweenthe ports (8, 6) lie over and close the steam and exhaust ports (70) and(Z), when in the top notch, the port (.9) opens a communication with thesteam chamber and the steam cylinders that have passed the point ofnearest proximity in the direction of the arrow (a to give them steam,and the port- (t) opens a communication, for the escape of steam,between the exhaust chamber and the cylinders that have passed the pointof greatest separation; and when the starting bar is shifted to thelower notch the parts are reversed for the purpose of reversingthemotion of the engine. In this way all the cylinders as they pass insuccession to one side of the point of nearestproximity receive steam toimpel them, and exhaust after they pass For the purpose of avoiding anyundue strain on the piston rods and arms the two shafts gear into athird shaft (2 by means of beveled wheels (2, z, z, 2,), or this may bedone by connecting rods, or by any other equivalent means, or the twoshafts maybe coupled together by an universal joint. The

piston rods if desired may have sliding cross heads with connecting rodsextending to the arms. And if it be desired to avoid the greater wear ofthat part of the cylinders which is farthest from the axis of motion,

by centrifugal force, this may be counteracted by extending the pistonor connecting rods beyond the ball and socket joints with a ball at theend of each to balance the-piston the balls answering the purpose of afly 1 wheel.

The face of the valve ring which is toconical or in the form of asegment "offa ward the disk and the disk may be made sphere to preventin part the unequal wear of the parts in consequence of the greatermotion of the outer than the inner periphery. i t i What I claim as myinvention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is-- Placing a cylinderor cylinders at any distance from the axis of their motion,'substantially as described, when this is com:

bined with the connecting of the piston or pistons with the arm or armsor their equivalent of. a shaft or its equivalent the axis of motion ofwhich makes an angle'less than a right angle with the line of the axisof mo-' tion of the cylinder or cylinders, substantially as hereindescribed. v v

BENJAMIN S. BENSON, Witnesses:

THOMAS J. HULL, JosH. MATTHEWS, Jr.

